Asociación de Desarrollo Comunitario Unión Nueva Zaculeü (Community Development Association Unión Nueva Zaculeü)
Community Copal AA la esperanza Alta Verapaz
Guatemala
2019
Transition Area
Fair Energetics
- Alternative energy supply
- Changing patterns of use and consumption
Type of Technology
The small hydroelectric turbine project increased and strengthened the community’s capacity to organize itself in the administration and management of the proposal; it also created awareness about the care of the watershed, water sources and forests.
Parallel to the implementation, the educational system, communications, the health system improved, the development of household chores was optimized and new community economic enterprises were created, based on energy sovereignty and the care of common goods.
Technical characteristics of the proposal
Diversion weir 225 m3, 43 m3 cargo tank, 24″ 60 PSI pressure pipeline, 5.5 m gross drop, 80m2 bunker type powerhouse, 14 kw generating equipment, existing community association, community contribution, Q1,050,000.00 for labor and materials.
Productive, community, environmental, or economic processes or activities that were positively impacted by the implementation of the community experience of TEJ.
Cardamom planting and collective production, without chemicals and fungicides. Malanga flour, plantain, soybean, cassava and cocoa chocolate are processed.
Beneficiaries of the experience
Families: 135 composed of 190 women, 170 men, 110 youth (ages 13 to 18) and 240 boys and girls (ages 0 to 12).
Achievements and problems encountered during implementation
ACHIEVEMENTS:
- Socio-economic community benefit resulting from self-management in the administration of the project.
- Optimization and awareness of the care and use of water sources.
- Active participation of men, women and youth as project partners.
PROBLEMS:
- Difficulties were encountered in raising the diversion wall, due to the winter that in 2019 was very strong and brought down part of the construction, it was necessary to make a new study and construction with which the problem was solved.
- The flow of the river was not enough to cover the generation in the summer season, this was solved with a complementary system of solar panels that produce the missing energy.
Women’s participation in the TEJ community experience
The project opened spaces for the participation of women in technical tasks related to the maintenance and installation of electricity, and also encouraged their participation in the boards of directors for the implementation of the project and motivated the formation of their own initiatives to create new initiatives.
The women in the community are owner-members, as are the men.